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 Small Medallions of 1946: Scott 108 Between 1940 and 1946, the Vatican issued three sets of stamps which have come to be called the Small Medallions Series. On January 9, 1946, the last of the three sets was issued. This Email provides a brief glimpse into this fascinating series of stamps. 
 Small Medallions: First Issue Scott 72-74 (1940) On March 12, 1940, the first Small Medallions Issue was released (Scott 72-76). The five stamps consisted of one showing the coat of arms for Pope Pius XII, and four containing images of the pope as the vignette within a round frame, creating the appearance of a medallion. Two of these stamps have the pope’s image facing left, and two show him facing right. 
 Small Medallions: Second Issue Scott 91, 95, 98, E5 (1945) On March 5, 1945, the second Small Medallions Issue was released. This series was expanded to include a total of ten stamps: eight definitives (Scott 91-98) and two Espresso stamps (Scott E5-E6). The definitive stamps bore the same images as the first series, while the two Espresso stamps showed an aerial view of Vatican City. Following the end of World War II, Italy and the rest of Europe faced the gargantuan task of rebuilding infrastructure and restoring normal, daily services, including postal services. Rome and the Vatican were mostly spared the physical destruction seen elsewhere. European economies faced massive inflation due to the enormous costs involved, and postal services were not immune to these impacts. To address the increases in postal rates at the end of 1945, Vatican City decided to reissue the Second Medallion stamps, reprinting them with surcharge overprints to increase the values of the stamps and cover new postal rates: 
 
 
 Small Medallions: Third Issue (Surcharged) Scott 102-109, E7-E8 (1946) Interestingly, the third series of overprinted stamps enjoyed an extended period of postal validity, and remained valid for use until December 31, 2001, when Vatican currency converted from the lira to the euro in 2002. Time and space do not permit a more detailed look at the Small Medallions Issues in this Daily Email. Past articles in Vatican Notes include detailed accounts of these issues, which can certainly provide the serious collector a wealth of content for study and research. The reader is directed to the references for a review of these stamps, simple in design but rich in history and variety. RERENCES: |
